At those words from Abyss, the people who had been descending into a frenzy fell silent in an instant.
Before the eyes of the crowd—who turned clinging, desperate gazes toward the man who claimed to have a solution for this hopeless situation—Abyss began to state his terms.
"The twenty-six Clear Plates I created and scattered across this island... twenty-five of them are already in our possession. However, the final one is still missing. Clear Plates have the unique property of being drawn to those most compatible with them, yet it seems this one hasn't even managed to find a partner yet. We have no idea where it might be."
Having openly revealed that the final Plate was missing, Abyss turned his focus back to the people.
Wearing a grin that was quite literally diabolic, he whispered words of sweet, intoxicating temptation.
"To whoever finds that last Clear Plate and brings it to me... I shall grant whatever your heart desires. Naturally, you may keep the Clear Plate itself. I might even entrust you with the task of ruling this world as one of my subordinates. You will obtain not only magnificent power but everything else you wish for. Well? Does that not sound wonderful?"
"I-If I find the last Clear Plate, I won't have to die...?"
"Not just that, but I could get that power... the power that crushed the Security Force!?"
Among the people subjected to Abyss's lure, there were those whose eyes began to change.
Faced with a way out of this crisis and a chance to obtain staggering power, they felt their hearts wavering in the gap between reason and greed.
They knew it was the worst possible thing they could do—and yet, they wanted to be saved. They wanted that power.
While many struggled with a razor-thin internal conflict, there were those who threw caution to the wind and moved according to their base desires.
"I-I'm not handing it over! That last Clear Plate is mine!"
"!? !? !?"
The one who stood up with that shout was one of the students known as Hero Candidates.
As he bolted toward the hotel exit with a look of frantic desperation, the other Hero Candidates rose as well, determined not to let anyone get a head start.
"Don't screw with me! I'm the one who's going to get that power and survive!"
"I'm not letting you bastards have the chance! I'm the one who's going to have it all!!"
"Wait—what!? Stop! Please, wait!"
"Why...? Why are you all doing this!?"
The voices of the comrades who had believed in them didn't reach the ears of the Hero Candidates as they shoved aside nearby students and evacuees, scrambling to be the first one out.
They understood the reality of the situation: as they were now, they stood absolutely no chance against Abyss.
Of course, this development had never happened in Luminous History. These people, who had relied entirely on their Game Knowledge, had no idea what Abyss's Strategy was or how to escape this predicament.
And once they had witnessed the power of Cyan and the others who had become Abyss's Subordinates, they realized they had no hope for victory. They decided to act on their greed so that they, at least, might survive.
They didn't know exactly what he was, but Abyss was a formidable enemy. If they, the Protagonists, couldn't match him, surely no one else could.
In that case, it was simply smarter to cling to the chance to survive and gain power.
Rather than dying a pathetic death here, it was better to find the Clear Plate and defect to Abyss's side. After all, Cyan and the others had obtained power far exceeding their own by doing just that. What was wrong with following their example?
The actions of the Hero Candidates—who justified themselves while casting aside their honor and their status as Protagonists to hunt for the Plate—became the catalyst for total collapse.
The sight of them attempting to sacrifice everyone else just to save themselves shattered the reason of those left behind.
"Don't screw around... Don't you screw with me! I'm not going to die! I'm the one who's going to live!"
"E-Everyone feels the same, right? You'd all sacrifice someone else to live, wouldn't you? I-I'm the same...! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!!"
"Heh... hehehe! The Hero Candidates betrayed us! It doesn't matter if we do it too, does it?! The Clear Plate! Search for the Clear Plate!"
"You people! Calm down! Everyone, stay calm!!"
"Ugh... nngh! Greed... fear... so many Negative Emotions are swirling, swelling up... Gh!"
"Yui! Stay with me!!"
To Yui, who saw through her soul rather than her eyes, the burgeoning Negative Emotions of the crowd were overwhelming.
As Fee frantically supported her while she nearly collapsed from the sheer ugliness of it all, a crazed survivor let out a scream.
"I found it...! I found it! It's the Clear Plate! I found the final one! I'm saved! I'm saved!"
A man who had found a Plate hidden within the hotel reached for it with a cry of pure jubilation.
But at that exact moment, the Abyss on the screen wore a smirk as if he could see the entire scene, and he spoke in a voice dripping with malice.
"Ah, that's right... I forgot to mention something important."